Apparatus and method for executing a game program having advertisements therein

ABSTRACT

A game system which is operable to update advertisements that are displayed when a game program is executed. The system stores a game program in a memory, receives (i.e., downloads), at predetermined times of operation, for example, on each new day the game program is executed or each time the game program is executed, updated advertising data that relates to at least one advertisement, stores the received advertising data in the memory, executes the game program stored in the memory, and outputs during the execution of the game program display data which corresponds to the stored advertisement data in accordance with the game program code. Further, instead of downloading new advertisements, plural advertisements may be prestored with the game program and only advertisement selection codes are downloaded to update the advertisements that are displayed when the game program is executed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to apparatus and method forexecuting a game program having advertisements therein and, moreparticularly, to apparatus and method for executing a game program inwhich advertisements displayed therein can be updated by downloading newadvertisement data prior to the execution thereof.

[0002] As is known, video games or “game machines” are extremely popularand are generally located in video arcades. Many video games, forexample, auto racing programs and flight simulators, now arecommercially available in the form of game systems and computer programsthat may be executed by personal computers in the home. Such gameprograms, for example, auto racing programs, display background scenariosuch as houses, city sky-lines, billboards, trees, etc., along with theracing cars to make the auto racing game appear “realistic”. To make thegame further appear realistic, billboards and other such advertisingsigns in the racing program display either generic “non-commercial”,information, e.g., “New York City 20 Miles Ahead”, or an advertisementof the company that produced the software. These advertisements,however, are not commercial advertisements because they are not intendedto persuade the viewer to purchase a specific product. Furthermore, evenif a particular game program contains an advertisement therein that canbe considered to be a commercial advertisement, since game programsgenerally are not modified once they are released for purchase by thepublic, there is the possibility that such an advertisement included inthe game program will become “obsolete” within a short period of timeafter the purchase thereof, for example, as when the advertised productis no longer sold.

[0003] Therefore, one problem encountered with typical game programs istheir general inability to maximize profits made from advertisementsthat are displayed during the execution thereof. Profits usually aremade from the purchase cost of game programs and not from sponsors(i.e., advertisers). If advertisements that are displayed when gameprograms are executed could be changed in a manner similar to that oftelevision programs, that is, by providing a means for changingcommercial advertisements in already purchased game programs, profits onthe sale of such game programs would substantially increase.Furthermore, and similar to commercial television, if profits fromcommercial advertisements in game programs increased, software companiescould, in theory, substantially lower the purchase price of such gameprograms which, in turn, would generally result in the increase ofconsumer purchases thereof.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provideapparatus and method for executing a game program having advertisementstherein which overcome the shortcomings of existing game programs andsystems.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatusand method for executing a game program in which the advertisementscontained therein can be modified.

[0006] A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus andmethod which inhibits the execution of a game program unlessadvertisement data therein is up-dated.

[0007] Various other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,apparatus and method operate to store a game program in a memory,receive (i.e., download via a transmission line) at predetermined times(e.g., on each new day or each time the game program is executed, oreach time the game system is turned on) advertising data that relates toat least one advertisement, store the received advertising data in thememory, execute the game program stored in the memory, and outputdisplay data which corresponds to the advertisement data stored in thememory in accordance with the game program.

[0009] As one aspect of the present invention, the game program isinhibited from being executed when advertisement data is not received atthe predetermined times.

[0010] As another aspect of the present invention, the game program isreceived with the advertising data when it is executed the first time.

[0011] As yet a further aspect of the present invention, a gameidentification code, which identifies the game program to be executed,is transmitted to a game service provider, and advertising data thatcorresponds to the game program identified by the game identificationcode is received from the game service provider.

[0012] As yet another aspect of the present invention, a plurality ofadvertising data corresponding to a plurality of game programs arereceived (e.g., via a satellite transmission), and display data whichcorrespond to advertisement data of the executed game program is outputduring the execution thereof.

[0013] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention,apparatus and method operate to store a game program and advertisingdata that relates to a plurality of advertisements in a memory, receiveat predetermined times advertising selection data that identifiesselected advertisements stored in the memory, execute the game programstored in the memory, and output display data which corresponds to theselected advertisements as identified in the advertising selection dataat respective times in accordance with the game program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The following detailed description, given by way of example andnot intended to limit the present invention solely thereto, will best beappreciated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals denote like elements and parts, in which:

[0015]FIGS. 1A and 1B are pictorial representations of an auto racinggame in which two different advertisements are displayed;

[0016]FIGS. 2A and 2B are pictorial representations of another scene ofthe auto racing game in which two different advertisements aredisplayed;

[0017]FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of the data structure of agame program stored in the game system of the present invention;

[0018]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of the game system of thepresent invention;

[0019]FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate the data structure of agame program stored in the game system in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the operation of the game system havingthe data structure shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B in accordance with thepresent invention;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of both the receiving and transmittingsides of the game system of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the game system in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the game system in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams of the data structure ofgame data received by the game system shown in FIG. 9; and

[0025]FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing multiple game systems whichreceive game data from a single host computer in accordance with thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1A and 1D are pictorialrepresentations of an auto racing game in which a commercialadvertisement “A” is displayed on a billboard in FIG. 1A and a differentcommercial advertisement “B” is displayed on the billboard as shown inFIG. 1B. Similarly, FIGS. 2A and 2B are pictorial representations ofanother “scene” of the auto racing program in which commercialadvertisements “C” and “D”, respectively, are displayed on the clothingof the racing car driver. As seen from both set of FIGS. 1A and 1B andFIGS. 2A and 2B, advertisements “A” and “B” are displayed in the samescene of the auto racing program (of course, at different times) andadvertisements “C” and “D” also are displayed in the same scene of theauto racing program.

[0027] Referring next to FIGS. 3A and 3B of the drawings, the datastructure of a game program at two different times of execution (to bediscussed) in accordance with the present invention are shown. As shownin FIG. 3A, the game program is comprised of a main program M, whichgenerally represents the entire game program except for advertisementdata, and advertisement data A and C, which are stored in memory areasA0 and C0, respectively. Advertisement data A and C represent thecommercial advertisements “A” and “C” shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A,respectively. Thus, when a game program having the data structure shownin FIG. 3A is executed, commercial advertisement A is displayed in onescene of the auto racing program and advertisement c is displayed inanother scene.

[0028]FIG. 3B illustrates the data structure of the same game programshown in FIG. 3A, except advertisement data B and D are stored in memoryareas A0 and C0, respectively, instead of advertisement data A and C.Thus, when the auto racing program having the data structure shown inFIG. 3B is executed, commercial advertisement B is displayed (see FIG.1B) in the same scene advertisement A was displayed and commercialadvertisement D is displayed (FIG. 2B) in the same scene advertisement Cwas displayed. If advertisement data A and C in a game program thereforeare replaced by advertisement data B and D, respectively, after thepurchase thereof, such a game program would be more valuable to theadvertisers. It is appreciated that the main program M and theadvertisement data stored in memory areas A0 and C0 may be stored in asingle memory or in separate memories, as is well known in the art.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow chart of the operation of a gamesystem in accordance with the present invention is shown. When a homegame system is turned on, a game program (e.g., having the datastructure shown in FIG. 3A) is executed at instruction S41 and asequence of operations is performed in accordance with the program codeof main program M. At an appropriate time during the execution of mainprogram M, the advertisement data stored in area A0, for example,advertisement data A, is read therefrom and displayed, such as shown inFIG. 1A, at an instruction S42. If, however, advertisement data B isstored in memory area A0, commercial advertisement B (shown in FIG. 1B)is displayed at instruction S42. The game program continues atinstruction 43 and, an appropriate time as designated by the gameprogram, the advertisement data stored in memory area C0 is readtherefrom and displayed at instruction S44, such as shown in FIG. 2A.Upon completion of instruction S44, the game program continues itsoperation at instruction S45 until the completion of the program.

[0030]FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate the data structure of agame program in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention in which main program M and all of the advertisement data A,B, C and D stored therein remains unchanged (i.e., are “fixed” data).However, an advertisement selection code S is variable, wherein FIG. 5aillustrates the data structure of a game program having theadvertisement selection code S_(AC) which indicates that advertisementdata A and C are selected, and FIG. 5B illustrates the data structure ofa game program having the advertisement selection code S_(BD) whichindicates that advertisement data B and D are selected. Thus, the mainprogram M and all of the advertisement data A, B, C and D are fixed dataand only the advertisement selection code S is “variable” data.

[0031]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a game systemwhich executes a game program having a data structure shown in eitherFIGS. 5A or 5B. When a user selects a particular game to be executed,the game system, at instruction S59, “downloads” from an on-line gamesystem service provider (to be discussed) the fixed data of thatparticular game, which consists of main program M and advertisement dataA, B, C and D shown in FIG. 5A. The main program M and the advertisementdata are stored in the game system's memory, typically non-volatilememory. If this fixed data already is stored in the game system'smemory, instruction S59 is not executed. Selection code S is downloadedat instruction S60, whether or not instruction S59 is executed, and suchselection code S identifies which advertisements are to be displayedduring the execution of the game program. Upon downloading of selectioncode S, main program M is executed at instruction S61 in a mannersimilar to instruction S41 of FIG. 4, previously discussed, and at anappropriate time during the execution of the game program, selectioncode S is read from the game system's memory at instruction S62, and thefirst advertisement to be displayed is identified at inquiry S63. Ifselection code S identifies commercial “A” as the first advertisement tobe displayed (i.e., S=S_(ax)), advertisement data A is read from memoryand displayed at instruction S64. On the other hand, if advertisement Bis identified as the first advertisement to be displayed (i.e.,S=S_(bx)), advertisement data B is read from memory and displayed atinstruction S65. The game program then continues at instruction S66 andat an appropriate time therein, selection code S is read from memory atinstruction S67 so that the next commercial advertisement to bedisplayed can be identified at inquiry S68. If advertisement C isidentified by selection code S (i.e., S=S_(xc)) then advertisement dataC is read from memory and subsequently displayed at instruction S69, butif advertisement D is identified by selection code S (i.e., S=S_(xd)),advertisement data D is read from memory and displayed at instructionS70. The game program then continues at instruction S71 untilcompletion. As shown in FIG. 6, “x” in inquiries S63 and S68 representsa “do not care” condition since inquiry 63 is identifying only the firstcommercial advertisement that is to be displayed and inquiry 68 isidentifying only the second commercial advertisement that is to bedisplayed. Furthermore, FIG. 6 is only an exemplary flow chart of thegame system of the present invention, and it is appreciated that theremay be more than two commercial advertisements identified by selectioncode S.

[0032] Referring back to FIG. 4, prior to the execution of the gameprogram at instruction S41, the advertisement data stored in memoryareas A0 and C0 are downloaded from an on-line game system provider in amanner similar to that performed previously described with reference toFIGS. 5A, 5B and 6. Namely, each time a user wishes to execute aparticular game program, the game system downloads advertisement datafrom an external source and stores the advertisement data in memoryareas A0 and C0. Similarly, when a user selects a game program in thegame system which operates in the manner shown in FIG. 6, a selectioncode S, which identifies which advertisements stored in memory are to bedisplayed during the execution of the game program, is downloaded.However, if the desired game program is not stored in the game system'smemory (e.g., on a hard disk, floppy disk, CD ROM, magneto-optical disk,etc.) both of the above-discussed embodiments of the present inventionalso download the fixed data of the game program. It is seen, therefore,that prior to the execution of a game program on a game system of thepresent invention, either the particular advertisement data representingthe image data of the advertisements that are displayed during theexecution of the program are downloaded or the advertisement selectioncode S is downloaded to the game system. In either case, commercialadvertisements are kept “current”, and since the amount of advertisementdata is relatively small compared to the size of the game programitself, the amount of “download” time is small in the first discussedembodiment. Of course, the download time of advertisement selection codeS in the second discussed embodiment is insubstantial.

[0033] In accordance with the present invention, updated or “new”advertisement data is downloaded or a new advertisement selection codeis downloaded each time a game program is executed. However, such dataneed not be downloaded every time the game program is executed, andinstead, may be downloaded only on a new day or a new week (or month) onwhich the game program is executed. Since commercial advertisementsgenerally do not change multiple times within the same day, downloadingsuch commercial advertisements more than once per day may beunnecessary. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention,commercial advertisement data or advertisement selection code S isdownloaded each time the game system is turned on.

[0034] Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram of both the game system(i.e., the receiving side) and a transmission system (i.e., thetransmitting side) in accordance with the present invention is shown.The transmission system may be an on-line game system service provider,the game manufacturer itself, a telecommunication company which sellscommercial advertisements, or any other suitable system in which thepresent invention may be applied. The transmission system generally iscomprised of a system controller 2, memories 6 and 8 (e.g., hard-diskdrives), a switching circuit 10, an encoder 12, and a transmitter 14.The transmission system supplies the main program M of a game andadvertisement data to a game system of the present invention whichgenerally is located in the home via a transmission line 16, forexample, an ISDN (integrated services digital network), an ordinarytelephone line, or any other suitable transmission line. The game systemof the present invention generally is comprised of a receiver 18, adecoder 20 and a game machine 22, which includes therein a memory 24,for example, a magneto-optical disk drive or other suitable non-volatileread/write memory.

[0035] System controller 2 of the transmitting side shown in FIG. 7controls memory 6, which stores therein the main program M of a gameprogram, memory 8, which stores therein advertisement data, and switch10, which switches between the outputs of memories 6 and 8. Theadvertisement data stored in memory 8 may be changed if it is desired todisplay a different advertisement when the game program is executed.When main program M is to be downloaded to the game system, in responseto a suitable request from the game system, system controller 2 controlsmemory 6 and switch 10 so that main program M stored in memory 6 issupplied to encoder 12 which encodes the supplied data in a manner wellknown in the art so that the data is suitable for transmission andsupplies the encoded data to transmitter 14 which transmits the encodeddata via transmission line 16 to the game system of the presentinvention. Receiver 18 of the receiving side receives the transmittedsignal, decoder 22 decodes the transmitted signal, and game machine 22stores in memory 24 the decoded signal (i.e., main program M). Systemcontroller 2 then controls memory 8 and switch 10 to read out and supplythe advertisement data stored in memory 8 so that it may be transmittedto the game system. The advertisement data is received, decoded andstored in memory 24.

[0036] When main program M already is stored in memory 24, then onlyadvertisement data stored in memory 8 is transmitted to the game system.As previously mentioned, main program M is stored in memory 6 andadvertisement data is stored in memory 8. However, in the previouslydiscussed embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6,main program M as well as advertisement data A, B, C and D are stored inmemory 6 and only advertisement selection code S is stored in memory 8.Therefore, only advertisement selection code S is transmitted to thegame system when main program M and the advertisement data (i.e., thefixed data) already are stored therein. Of course, and as is well knownin the art, memories 6 and 8 may represent different memories of thetransmission system or simply different memory locations in the samememory device.

[0037]FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a game system in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a gameprogram stored on a permanent storage medium, for example, an opticaldisk, is purchased by a user. The optical disk is inserted in amagneto-optical disk drive 38 (or other suitable reproducing device)which reproduces the game program stored thereon. As shown, the gamesystem is comprised of a transceiver/interface 26, a memory 28, a systemcontroller 30, a keyboard interface 32, a decoder 34, a picturecontroller 36 and memory 38 which is comprised of the magneto-opticaldisk drive having the optical disk loaded therein. Identification datastored on the optical disk and which identifies the game program storedthereon is reproduced therefrom and transmitted via transceiver 26 to anon-line game service provider, such as disclosed in FIG. 7. In responseto the transmission of the identification data, the service providertransfers to the game system shown in FIG. 8 updated “variable” data,which either is the advertisement data (i.e., advertisement data A, B, Cor D, or any combination thereof) or advertisement selection code S, aspreviously discussed. The updated variable data is received bytransceiver 26 and stored in memory 28. The variable data stored inmemory 28 then is stored on the optical disk of memory 38.Alternatively, the variable data is not permanently stored. In eithercase, the game program stored on the optical disk is not executed untilupdated commercial advertisement data is supplied from the serviceprovider.

[0038] Upon receiving updated commercial advertisement data, the gameprogram is executed and at an appropriate time, the stored data isdecoded in decoder 34 and supplied to picture controller 36 whichconverts the decoded data to a video signal and which supplies the videosignal for display on a video monitor (not shown). Furthermore, usercommands are entered on a keyboard (not shown) which is coupled tokeyboard interface 32 which decodes the supplied commands and whichsupplies the decoded commands to system controller 30. System controller30 controls the operations of the various devices of the game system ofthe present invention in a manner well known in the art. Thus, the gamesystem of FIG. 8 is similar to the game system shown in FIG. 7 exceptmain program M (along with advertisement data A, B, C, D in the seconddiscussed embodiment) is not downloaded but is stored on amagneto-optical disk that is purchased by a consumer.

[0039]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of the presentinvention in which the “variable” data (i.e., the advertisement data orthe advertisement selection code) is supplied to the game system via asatellite transmission. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the variable datais repeatedly transmitted over a satellite transmission such that thesystem of FIG. 9 only “waits” for a relatively short period of timebefore receiving the variable data that corresponds to the particulargame program that has been selected to be executed. When a user insertsin CD ROM drive 52 a CD ROM (or magneto-optical disk) having a gameprogram stored thereon and executes via keyboard interface 50 the gameprogram, a game identification code stored on the CD ROM is reproducedtherefrom and supplied to random access memory (RAM) 42 in a mannersimilar to that previously described with reference to FIG. 8. Systemcontroller 48 then ascertains the transmission channel on which thevariable data corresponding to the selected game program is transmittedand controls receiver 40 to receive satellite transmissions on theascertained channel.

[0040]FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate the data structure of datatransmitted over two different channels of a satellite transmission. Asshown, FIG. 11A shows the data transmitted on a channel G and FIG. 10Bshows the data transmitted on a channel H. Channel G includes thereondata corresponding to two game programs J and K, and channel H includesthereon data corresponding to three game programs P, Q and R. If theexecuted game program corresponds to, for example, game J on channel G,receiver 40 is controlled to receive data transmitted on channel G, andupon receipt of software identification data J on channel G, advertisingdata J-1 and J-2 transmitted thereafter are stored in memory 42 as, forexample, commercial advertisements A and C, respectively. Theadvertisement data further may be stored in a non-volatile memory, e.g.,a hard disk or M-O disk, so that the advertisement data does not need tobe downloaded again in the event of a power failure. Furthermore, thegame system may be designed to require that updated advertisement databe downloaded each time the game is executed, or each new day (or week,etc.) on which the game is executed, or each time the system is turnedon, or at any other desired interval of time. The game program then isexecuted in a manner similar to that previously described with referenceto FIG. 8.

[0041]FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of game systems56, 58, 60 . . . each interacting with a host computer 54 (i.e., thegame service provider) via plural transmission lines. It is seen thatsince main program M of a game program is only downloaded to each gamesystem at most one time and since advertisement data or advertisementselection codes have a relatively small amount of data, the transmissionthereof is relatively short so that a transmission system generally willbe operable to service a relatively large number of home game systems.

[0042] In each of the above discussed embodiments, commercialadvertisements are updated on a regular basis such that profits madefrom such advertisements can be expected to substantially increase.Furthermore, since the amount of advertisement data that is downloadedto a game system is relatively small compared to the amount of data in agame program, download times are relatively short. Still further, thegame system shown in FIG. 9 operates to download updated advertisementdata in a manner that is transparent to a user of such game system.

[0043] While the present invention has been particularly shown anddescribed in conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof, it willbe readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art thatvarious changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention. For example, although the present invention has beendescribed as displaying two commercial advertisements from a selectionof four advertisements, the present invention is not limited to thesenumber of advertisements and may be applied to game programs thatdisplay a relatively large number of, e.g. 20, advertisements during theexecution of a particular game.

[0044] As another example, although the present discussion is directedto home game systems, the present invention is not limited solely to thehome and may be widely applied to game systems located in other locales,including game arcades and companies.

[0045] Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpretedas including the embodiments described herein, the alternativesmentioned above, and all equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for executing a game program havingadvertisements therein, comprising: storage means for storing a gameprogram; means for receiving advertising data relating to at least oneadvertisement, said means for receiving being operable to receive newadvertisement data at predetermined times, and wherein said storagemeans stores the received advertising data; and program execution meansfor executing said game program stored in said storage means andoutputting display data corresponding to the advertisement data storedin said storage means in accordance with said game program.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for receiving is operable toreceive new advertising data each new day on which said game program isexecuted.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for receivingis operable to receive new advertising data each time said game programis executed.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means forturning on said apparatus; and wherein said means for receiving isoperable to receive new advertising data each time said apparatus isturned on.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for receivingis operable to receive advertising data relating to a plurality ofadvertisements; and said program execution means is operable to outputdisplay data corresponding to each of said plurality of advertisementsat respective times in accordance with said game program.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for inhibiting saidprogram execution means from executing said game program when said meansfor receiving does not receive advertisement data at said predeterminedtimes.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for receiving isoperable to receive said game program with said advertising data whensaid game program is executed a first time; and said storage means isoperable to store said game program received by said means forreceiving.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for receivingreceives said game program with said advertising data when said gameprogram is not stored in said storage means; and said storage means isoperable to store said game program received by said means forreceiving.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means fortransmitting to a game service provider a game identification codeidentifying the game program to be executed, and wherein said means forreceiving is operable to receive from the game service provideradvertising data corresponding to the game program identified by saidgame identification code.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidmeans for receiving is operable to receive a plurality of advertisingdata corresponding to a plurality of game programs; and said storagemeans stores the received advertising data corresponding to the gameprogram to be executed by said program execution means.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said new advertisement data received bysaid means for receiving may be the same or different from theadvertisement data previously received by said means for receiving andstored in said storage means.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidmeans for receiving is operable to receive said advertising data from agame transmitting system over a transmission line.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said means for receiving is operable to receive saidadvertising data from a satellite transmission.
 14. Apparatus forexecuting a game program having advertisements therein, comprising:storage means for storing a game program and advertising data relatingto a plurality of advertisements; means for receiving at predeterminedtimes advertising selection data identifying selected ones of saidplurality of advertisements stored in said storage means; and programexecution means for executing said game program stored in said storagemeans and outputting display data corresponding to the selectedadvertisements identified in said advertising selection data atrespective times in accordance with said game program.
 15. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein said means for receiving is operable to receive newadvertising selection data each new day on which said game program isexecuted.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said means forreceiving is operable to receive new advertising selection data eachtime said game program is executed.
 17. The apparatus of claim 14,further comprising means for turning on said apparatus; and wherein saidmeans for receiving is operable to receive new advertising selectiondata each time said apparatus is turned on.
 18. The apparatus of claim14, wherein said means for receiving is operable to receive advertisingselection data identifying plural ones of said plurality ofadvertisements; and said program execution means is operable to outputdisplay data corresponding to each of the identified advertisements atrespective times in accordance with said game program.
 19. The apparatusof claim 14, further comprising means for inhibiting said programexecution means from executing said game program when said means forreceiving does not receive advertisement selection data at saidpredetermined times.
 20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said meansfor receiving is operable to receive said game program and saidadvertising data with said advertising selection data when said gameprogram is executed a first time; and said storage means is operable tostore the received game program and advertising data.
 21. The apparatusof claim 14, wherein said means for receiving receives said game programand said advertising data with said advertising selection data when saidgame program and advertising data is not stored in said storage means;and said storage means is operable to store the received game programand advertising data.
 22. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprisingmeans for transmitting to a game service provider a game identificationcode identifying the game program to be executed, and wherein said meansfor receiving is operable to receive from the game service provideradvertising selection data corresponding to the game program identifiedby said game identification code.
 23. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinsaid means for receiving is operable to receive a plurality ofadvertising selection data corresponding to a plurality of gameprograms; and said program execution means is operable to display datacorresponding to the selected advertisements identified in theadvertising selection data corresponding to the executed game program.24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said advertisement selection datareceived by said means for receiving may be the same or different fromthe advertisement selection data previously received by said means forreceiving.
 25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said means forreceiving is operable to receive said advertising selection data over atransmission line from a game transmitting system.
 26. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein said means for receiving is operable to receive saidadvertising data from a satellite transmission.
 27. Method of executinga game program having advertisements therein, comprising the steps of:storing a game program in memory; receiving advertising data relating toat least one advertisement at predetermined times; storing the receivedadvertising data in the memory; executing the game program stored in thememory; and outputting display data corresponding to the advertisementdata stored in the memory in accordance with the game program.
 28. Themethod of claim 27, wherein said step of receiving is carried out byreceiving new advertising data each new day on which the game program isexecuted.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein said step of receiving iscarried out by receiving new advertising data each time the game programis executed.
 30. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step ofturning on a game system which executes the game program; and whereinsaid step of receiving is carried out by receiving new advertising dataeach time the game system is turned on.
 31. The method of claim 27,wherein said step of receiving is carried out by receiving advertisingdata relating to a plurality of advertisements; and said step ofoutputting is carried out by outputting display data corresponding toeach of the plurality of advertisements at respective times inaccordance with the game program.
 32. The method of claim 27, furthercomprising the step of inhibiting the game program from being executedwhen advertisement data is not received at the predetermined times. 33.The method of claim 27, wherein said step of receiving is carried out byreceiving the game program with the advertising data when the gameprogram is executed a first time.
 34. The method of claim 27, whereinsaid step of receiving is carried out by receiving the game program withthe advertising data when the game program is not stored in the memory.35. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of transmittingto a game service provider a game identification code identifying thegame program to be executed; and wherein said step of receiving iscarried out by receiving from the game service provider advertising datacorresponding to the game program identified by the game identificationcode.
 36. The method of claim 27, wherein said step of receiving iscarried out by receiving a plurality of advertising data correspondingto a plurality of game programs; and said step of outputting is carriedout by outputting display data corresponding to the advertisement dataof the game program that is executed.
 37. The method of claim 27,wherein the received advertisement data may be the same or differentfrom advertisement data previously received by said step of receiving.38. The method of claim 27, wherein said step of receiving is carriedout by receiving the advertising data from a game transmitting systemover a transmission line.
 39. The method of claim 27, wherein said stepof receiving is carried out by receiving the advertising data from asatellite transmission.
 40. Method of executing a game program havingadvertisements therein, comprising the steps of: storing a game programand advertising data relating to a plurality of advertisements in amemory; receiving at predetermined times advertising selection dataidentifying selected ones of the plurality of advertisements stored inthe memory; executing the game program stored in the memory; andoutputting display data corresponding to the selected advertisementsidentified in the advertising selection data at respective times inaccordance with the game program.
 41. The method of claim 40, whereinsaid step of receiving is carried out by receiving new advertisingselection data each new day on which the game program is executed. 42.The method of claim 40, wherein said step of receiving is carried out byreceiving new advertising selection data each time the game program isexecuted.
 43. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step ofturning on a game system which executes the game program; and whereinsaid step of receiving is carried out by receiving new advertisingselection data each time the game system is turned on.
 44. The method ofclaim 40, wherein said step of receiving is carried out by receivingadvertising selection data identifying plural ones of the plurality ofadvertisements; and said step of outputting is carried out by outputtingdisplay data corresponding to each of the identified advertisements atrespective times in accordance with the game program.
 45. The method ofclaim 40, further comprising the step of inhibiting the game programfrom being executed when advertisement selection data is not received atthe predetermined times.
 46. The method of claim 40, wherein said stepof receiving is carried out by receiving the game program and theadvertising data with the advertising selection data when the gameprogram is executed a first time; and said step of storing is carriedout by storing the received game program and advertising data.
 47. Themethod of claim 40, wherein said step of receiving is carried out byreceiving the game program and the advertising data with the advertisingselection data when the game program and advertising data are not storedin the memory; and said step of storing is carried out by storing thereceived game program and advertising data.
 48. The method of claim 40,further comprising the step of transmitting to a game service provider agame identification code identifying the game program to be executed;and wherein said step of receiving is carried out by receiving from thegame service provider advertising selection data corresponding to thegame program identified by the game identification code.
 49. The methodof claim 40, wherein said step of receiving is carried out by receivinga plurality of advertising selection data corresponding to a pluralityof game programs; and said step of outputting is carried out byoutputting display data corresponding to the selected advertisementsidentified in the advertising selection data corresponding to theexecuted game program.
 50. The method of claim 40, wherein the receivedadvertisement selection data may be the same or different fromadvertisement selection data previously received by said step ofreceiving.
 51. The method of claim 40, wherein said step of receiving iscarried out by receiving the advertising selection data over atransmission line from a game transmitting system.
 52. The method ofclaim 40, wherein said step of receiving is carried out by receiving theadvertising data from a satellite transmission.